Friday, April 25^th, 2008 – Maine

After the last update, we followed the Route One through Maine. Absolutely beautiful countryside, our favorite state yet. We ended up staying at the Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. The park was not officially opened but there was a stack of envelopes at the entrance where you left $10 for the night, no hook-ups but free firewood. We went for a walk out of the park and less than 50m was the Atlantic Ocean.  We decided to stay at the park for two nights and went for a 6 mile hike by the ocean the next day, gorgeous scenery. The weather was sunny but still cool. We went and got an oil change in the main town as we have already done 2,000 miles.   Finally popped the champagne and attracted some hippies to hang out with for the night.

After Acadia we stayed on the Route 1 heading for Canada. We passed through some really wild looking land, a cross between the Burren and Boora Bog. Definitely a great drive to take, one we will remember.  It was late when we got to Calais so we decided to cross the border the next day. We couldn’t find a campground open so we ended up at a gas station trucker stop. Felt pretty safe with about 20 trucks parked around us.

Crossed into Canada with no problems, they didn’t even ask for Francie’s paperwork. We drove for a while again through wild looking land. Eventually found a campground in Sussex, New Brunswick. It wasn’t officially opened either but the owner let us park up with electric for $10. Good job we are saving on the campgrounds as the gas went up 6 cent per liter the day we arrived. It is still really cold and actually snowed. We stayed 2 nights in Sussex so we could get some laundry and some repairs to the van done. A few of the drawers and closet doors were wonky so glad we have a carpenter on hand.

April 20^th, 2008 - Brunswick, Maine

Well I finally got over the flu. We went into New York City last Wednesday and did one of those bus tours. Was really cool as we got to see most of the city. We started at Times Square and went past Madison Square Gardens, Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Wall Street. We got the ferry to Liberty Island to the Statue of Liberty and then went on to Ground Zero. Police security was crazy as they were getting ready for the Pope’s arrival so there were lines of cars on every street.  We walked down 42^nd street and Broadway which was full of the glitzy and glamorous NY that you see on TV and then got the train back to Yonkers.

So that was our trip to New York. Thanks to Martin and Bernie for putting us up, it was great seeing you all and baby Katie.

We left Yonkers and headed for Rhode Island. Ended up at Fisherman’s State Park Campground in Point Judith for two days. The weather was beautiful but still very cool at night. This was our first real chance to get used to been in the van since we left Chicago. Fortunately, everything is working good and it’s really comfortable and cozy at night. The electric blanket was a great buy and is working well off the solar panel battery. We got the LPG filled up and the stove is going good too. We did some reorganizing on the van as everything just got thrown in leaving Chicago. Other than that, we went for a scenic drive around the area and saw some of the lighthouses and surfing beaches. The surfers were all wearing wetsuits, so I am sure the water is still pretty cold.

After Rhode Island, we ended up in Cape Cod, MA. It took us four hours of driving around to find a campground! It seems to be more hotels and summer rentals than campsites. We finally found a state park to pull into for the night and got some fresh shrimp and scallops from the local fishmarket for dinner. We decided to empty the septic and water tanks before we left and got stuck in the process. While reversing up to the dump station the van got bogged down in soft ground. The owner’s son had to bail is out with his truck. This gives us an idea of how easy it is to get stuck so we better stick to the main roads in South America.

At the moment we are in a parking lot behind a Ramada Inn at Brunswick, Maine. We couldn’t find a campground that was opened and just by chance we stopped here to ask for directions. Turns out the owner is an avid RVer and provides free parking with electric hook-up for RV’s.  It works out fine for the night. We are leaving in the morning again and should be in Canada by tomorrow or the next day. Hopefully it will start warming up, there is still snow on the ground here in Maine.

That’s all for now. Will blog again once we get into Nova Scotia.